Synchronized processing of ear shells for hearing aids

ABSTRACT

A system and method for synchronously processing ear shells for hearing aids comprising: loading data associated with a first and second ear shell; determining whether to perform a rigid or non-rigid registration of the data associated with the first and second ear shells, wherein the rigid registration is performed when shapes of the first and second ear shells are within a predetermined threshold, and the non-rigid registration is performed when the shapes of the first and second ear shells are not within the predetermined threshold; registering the data associated with the first and second ear shells; processing the first and second ear shells, wherein the processing is synchronously performed; and outputting the processed first and second ear shells to a display device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/470,667, filed May 15, 2003.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to hearing aids and more particularly, tosynchronized processing of ear shells for the manufacture of hearingaids.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

In most humans, hearing impairment occurs in both ears rather than asingle ear. As a result, most humans require a hearing aid for both earsin order to compensate for their hearing loss. Hearing aids, however,are typically custom made because most humans have different levels ofhearing loss and different inner canal, meatus and/or concha structures.

In order to manufacture a hearing aid or pair thereof, a health careprofessional takes impressions of a patient's left and right ears, whichare duplicates of the contours of the patient's ears, and then forwardsthese impressions to a hearing aid manufacturer. The hearing aidmanufacturer then replicates the impressions into, for example, earshells so they will fit the patient and, then installs electronichearing components into the shells thus completing the hearing aidmanufacturing process.

In an effort to streamline the above manufacturing process, severalcomputerized methods of manufacture have been developed. These methodscommonly referred to as electronic modeling systems include sundryelectronic detailing and modeling procedures, which are used to aid inthe manufacture of hearing aids. These methods, however, typicallymanufacture each shell separately and require manual adjustments to theshells; thus, leading to inconsistencies between the shells, whichincrease the time and cost for the manufacture of hearing aids.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes the foregoing and other problemsencountered in the known teachings by providing a system and method forsynchronously processing ear shells for hearing aids.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for synchronouslyprocessing ear shells for hearing aids comprises: loading dataassociated with a first and second ear shell; determining whether toperform a rigid or non-rigid registration of the data associated withthe first and second ear shells, wherein the rigid registration isperformed when shapes of the first and second ear shells are within apredetermined threshold, and the non-rigid registration is performedwhen the shapes of the first and second ear shells are not within thepredetermined threshold; registering the data associated with the firstand second ear shells; processing the first and second ear shells,wherein the processing is synchronously performed; and outputting theprocessed first and second ear shells to a display device.

The loading step comprises: obtaining three-dimensional (3D) models ofthe first and second ear shells; and reconstructing the 3D models,wherein the 3D models are obtained by scanning one of an auditory canal,concha, and meatus of an ear. The registering step comprises:determining similar features between the first and second ear shells;calculating a transformation matrix for the first and second ear shells;and determining differences between the first and second ear shells.

The processing step comprises: mapping data associated with an operationperformed on the first ear shell to the second ear shell forsynchronously performing the operation performed on the first ear shellon the second ear shell. The mapping step comprises: receiving the dataassociated with the first ear shell; and applying the transformationmatrix associated with the registered data of the first and second earshells.

An operation performed in the processing step is one of a detailing,modeling, and image manipulation. The detailing is one of a line cut,tapering, extension, relaxing, band selection, offset, and ipsilateralrouting of signal (I-ROS) cutting. The modeling is one of a geometricadjustment, faceplate integration, vent channel formation, receiver holeformation, labeling, and collision detection. The image manipulation isone of a rotate, zoom, transformation, virtual cast, background rulerdisplay, size measurement, and color change. The first and second earshells may be left and right ear shells, or one of a pair of left earshells and a pair of right ear shells.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a system forsynchronously processing ear shells for hearing aids comprises: a memorydevice for storing a program; a processor in communication with thememory device, the processor operative with the program to: load dataassociated with a first and second ear shell; determine whether toperform a rigid or non-rigid registration of the data associated withthe first and second ear shells; register the data associated with thefirst and second ear shells; process the first and second ear shells,wherein the processing is synchronously performed; and display theprocessing of the first and second ear shells on a display device in asplit-screen format. The processor is further operative with the programto store data associated with the loading, registering, and processingof the first and second ear shells, and the data associated with thefirst and second ear shells is stored in one of a database, and memory.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a computer programproduct comprising a computer useable medium having computer programlogic recorded thereon for synchronously processing ear shells forhearing aids, the computer program logic comprises: program code forloading data associated with a first and second ear shell; program codefor determining whether to perform a rigid or non-rigid registration ofthe data associated with the first and second ear shells; program codefor registering the data associated with the first and second earshells; and program code for processing the first and second ear shells,wherein the processing is synchronously performed.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a system forsynchronously processing ear shells for hearing aids comprises: meansfor loading data associated with a first and second ear shell; means fordetermining whether to perform a rigid or non-rigid registration of thedata associated with the first and second ear shells; means forregistering the data associated with the first and second ear shells;and means for processing the first and second ear shells, wherein theprocessing is synchronously performed.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a method forsynchronously processing ear shells for hearing aids comprises: loadingdata associated with a first and second ear shell, wherein the dataassociated with the first and second ear shells is obtained by scanningan impression of the first and second ear shells; determining whether toperform a rigid or non-rigid registration of the data associated withthe first and second ear shells, wherein the rigid registration isperformed when shapes of the first and second ear shells are within apredetermined threshold, and the non-rigid registration is performedwhen the shapes of the first and second ear shells are not within thepredetermined threshold; registering the data associated with the firstand second ear shells so that a relative position and orientation of thefirst shell with respect to the second shell can be determined; andprocessing the first and second ear shells, wherein the processing onthe first ear shell is synchronously performed on the second ear shellusing data from the registration of the first and second ear shells.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a method forsynchronously processing ear shells for hearing aids comprises: loadingdata associated with a first and second ear shell; determining whetherto perform a rigid or non-rigid registration of the data associated withthe first and second ear shells, wherein the rigid registration isperformed when shapes of the first and second ear shells are within apredetermined threshold, and the non-rigid registration is performedwhen the shapes of the first and second ear shells are not within thepredetermined threshold; registering the data associated with the firstand second ear shells by: determining similar features between the firstand second ear shells; calculating a transformation matrix for the firstand second ear shells; and determining a difference between the firstand second ear shells; performing an operation on the first ear shell,wherein the operation is one of a detailing, modeling, and imagemanipulation; storing data associated with the operation performed onthe first ear shell; mapping the data associated with the operationperformed on the first ear shell to the second ear shell, wherein thedata is mapped by using the transformation matrix of the first andsecond ear shells; performing the operation performed on the first earshell on the second ear shell, wherein the operation is performed in asubstantially synchronous manner; and displaying the operationsperformed on the first and second ear shells on a display device in asplit-screen format.

The foregoing advantages and features are of representative embodimentsand are presented to assist in understanding the invention. It should beunderstood that they are not intended to be considered limitations onthe invention as defined by the claims, or limitations on equivalents tothe claims. Therefore, this summary of features and advantages shouldnot be considered dispositive in determining equivalents. Additionalfeatures and advantages of the invention will become apparent in thefollowing description, from the drawings and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for synchronously processing earshells for hearing aids according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating synchronously processing ear shellsfor hearing aids according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating synchronously processing ear shellsfor hearing aids according to a processing step of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates two ear shells in a split-screen format according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates two ear shells during a detailing operation;

FIG. 6 illustrates the two ear shells of FIG. 5 after the detailingoperation;

FIG. 7 illustrates the two ear shells of FIG. 4 after a rotateoperation;

FIG. 8 illustrates the two ear shells of FIG. 4 after a zoom operation;and

FIG. 9 illustrates two ear shells after a modeling operation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for synchronously processing earshells for hearing aids 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 includes, interalia, a three-dimensional (3D) scanner 105, a central processing unit(CPU) 110 and a prototyping machine (i.e., prototyper) 15. The CPU 110includes a memory 120 and is operatively connected to an input 135 andan output 140.

The memory 120 includes a random access memory (RAM) 125 and a read onlymemory (ROM) 130. The memory 120 can also include a database, diskdrive, tape drive, etc., or a combination thereof. The RAM 125 functionsas a data memory that stores data used during the execution of theprogram in the CPU 110 and is used as a work area. The ROM 130 functionsas a program memory for storing a program executed in the CPU 110. Theinput 135 is constituted by a keyboard, mouse, etc. and the output 140is constituted by a liquid crystal display (LCD), cathode ray tube (CRT)display, printer, etc.

The scanner 105, which is used to scan an impression of an ear, maycommunicate directly to the CPU 110 via a wired and/or wirelessconnection or in-directly via a database 145 or a server. The database145 may be connected to the scanner 105 or the CPU 110 via a local areanetwork (LAN), wide area network (WAN) or the internet, etc. The scanner105 may be, for example, an optical, ultrasound, magnetic resonance (MR)or computed tomographic (CT) type 3D scanner.

The prototyper 115, which is used to prototype and/or model (i.e.,process) ear shells for hearing aids, may communicate directly with theCPU 110 via a wired and/or wireless connection or in-directly via adatabase 150 or a server. The database 150 may also be connected to theprototyper 115 or the CPU 110 via a LAN, WAN or the internet, etc. Theprototyper 115 may produce a physical version of the ear shell, whichbecomes a hearing aid, using a prototyping/modeling technique such asMilling, stereo lithography, solid ground curing, selective lasersintering, direct shell production casting, 3D-printing, topographicshell fabrication, fused deposition modeling, inkjet modeling, laminatedobject manufacturing, nano-printing, etc.

It is to be understood that detailing and modeling procedures areperformed when synchronously processing ear shells for hearing aids inaccordance with the present invention. Accordingly, a brief descriptionof the detailing and modeling procedures will now be discussed. It is tobe further understood that the following detailing and modelingprocedures may be performed in a variety of sequences with satisfactoryresults.

Detailing employs several functions based on data related to a patient'sear impressions or several patients' ear impressions. These functionsmay be, for example, a surface reconstruction, line cut, canal tapering,local relaxing, canal extension, band selection, offset, etc. In thefirst step of the detailing procedure, data associated with a patient'sear impressions or data associated several patient's ear impressions isloaded into the CPU 110, memory 120 or database 145. This isaccomplished by scanning the ear impressions using the 3D scanner 105and storing the impressions in a format such as point cloud format(i.e., .ASC) or stereo lithography format (i.e., .STL), etc.

Included in the loading procedure is a surface reconstruction of thescanned ear impressions. A surface reconstruction is typically performedbecause data received from the 3D scanner 105 may consist of certainoutliers, noise and holes, which result in incomplete or inadequatesurface models of the impressions. In order to reconstruct the surfaces,a robust data pre-processing method (e.g., rapid triangulation, 3D alphashape, delaunay mesh generation, Quickhuall, voronori, etc.) isimplemented to remove the outliers, reduce the noise, and fill smallholes while preserving the original geometry of the surface models. Thesurface reconstructions may additionally remove a number of defectsresulting from different sources such as scars, earwax, tissue, or hairin the ear.

Subsequent to the creation of the surface models of the impressions,additional detailing steps and/or modifications are performed to createfinal models of the ear shells to be manufactured into hearing aids. Anadditional detailing step that may be performed on the surface models ofthe ear shells is a line cut for reducing the models to a desired sizeand shape. This is accomplished by defining a cutting plane that dividesan impression shell into two parts and, removing a portion of theimpression shell that is not desired. The line cut also includes severalfunctions such as, open line cut, close line cut, bottom line cut, androunding. All of which may be used to modify the impression shells. Openline cut is used to cut an impression shell at specified positionsresulting in an open model at the area of application. Close line cut issimilar to the open line cut; however, it has an additional step thatfills open contours at specified cutting positions resulting in a closedimpression at the area of application.

After performing the line cut and its associated functions, theimpression shells may be further modified by using tapering andextension functions. The tapering function is used to trim the canal tip(of the ear canal) if it is overly extended and taper the resultingimpressions. The tapering function is typically used to smooth the edgeof a line following a close cut operation. In contrast to tapering,extension is used to extend the canal along the topology of the canaltip when the resulting canal is too short.

Further modifications to the impression shells may be performed duringthe detailing process. These modifications are accomplished through useof the following functions, inter alia: local relaxing; band selection;offset; and ipsilateral routing of signal (I-ROS) cutting. Localrelaxing is used to remove additional bumps, artifacts or voids or fillup dimples or depressions in the impression shells by implementing therelaxation on a selected local surface area (e.g., a region of interest)and recovering the surface. Band selection is used to provide morespecific band-like shapes around the impressions and is typically usedin conjunction with an offset to apply changes (e.g., expansion andshrinkage) to specified bands of the impression shells. Offset is usedto make volumetric changes such as expansion and shrinkage in theimpression shells for fitting assessment and remarks. This function hastwo modes: local offset and global offset. In local offset only aselected portion of an impression will be changed, whereas in the globaloffset the entire impression shells may be changed. I-ROS utilizes anon-occluding design without contralateral routing and is used to createimpressions for patients with mild to moderate high frequency hearingloss. Upon completion of detailing, the detailed impressions aretransferred to a point cloud or stereo lithographic format and stored ina CPU, database or memory for future use, particularly for modeling ofthe ear shells.

Subsequently, modeling begins in an effort to create a physical version(i.e., a hearing aid) of the detailed impressions. When modeling,several operations may be performed on the detailed impression, such asadjusting wall thickness, faceplate integration, vent channel andreceiver hole formation, labeling, collision detection, etc., to createthe physical version of the detailed impressions.

One of the first operations typically performed on the impressions is tooptimize their geometries. The detailed impressions' wall thicknessesmay be modified in order to increase the strength and stability of theimpressions, or a face or cover plate may be applied to the impressions.In order to integrate the faceplate to the impressions an area iscreated for the faceplate by cutting away part of, for example, one ofthe impressions. This area is carefully configured so that the faceplatewill be aligned with electronic hearing components that are or will beplaced in the impression. Once the cutting is complete the faceplate isapplied to the impression. In order to ensure proper performance of thephysical version of the impressions, a pressure compensation/ventilationchannel or a sound bore is created.

Component placement is an additional process undertaken during modeling.It is, for example, an iterative process in which components are placedon or in the impressions until a desirable arrangement is obtained.Several design tools are used to assist in component placement such aslocking and placing components in relation to the impressions' surfacesand collision detection so that components do not interfere with eachother or the impressions. After the modeling process is complete, aunique identifier and/or label is typically placed on the physicalversions of the impressions. The label or identifier may be a serialnumber, barcode or color code, etc.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating synchronously processing ear shellsfor hearing aids according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 2, data from a plurality of ear shells,which includes first and second ear shells, is loaded into the CPU 110(step 210). As discussed above, the data from the plurality of earshells is loaded by first acquiring physical ear impressions of apatient or several patients' ears from a medical professional and thenscanning the impressions with the scanner 105. The scanned impressionsare stored in a point cloud, stereo lithographic, rhino, wavefront, etc.format and are then transmitted to the CPU 110.

Once the data related to the scanned impressions is in the CPU 110 thedata is reconstructed to form a pair of 3D surface shell models. The 3Dmodels of the shells are geometric surfaces parameterized by a set ofvertices, which are connected to each other by triangles. The 3D modelsof the shells are viewed by an operator via the output device 140, suchas a CRT display, in a split-screen format and/or view 400 as shown inFIG. 4. It is to be understood that the process described with referenceto FIG. 2, is fully automated and handles the steps with no operatorinteraction. The operator, however, may interact when necessary via aninput device 135 such as a keyboard or a personal digital assistant(PDA), as will be discussed hereinafter with reference to FIG. 3.

After the plurality of ear shells are loaded into the CPU 110, it isdetermined if they should be registered using a rigid or a non-rigidregistration technique (step 220). The rigid registration techniquetypically requires the identification of at least three commonanatomical landmarks between the plurality of ear shells, whereas thenon-rigid registration technique is applied when fewer than, forexample, three common anatomical landmarks are found between theplurality of ear shells. Thus, for example, the rigid registrationtechnique is used when shapes of the first and second ear shells arewithin a predetermined threshold (e.g., having three or more anatomicallandmarks in common), and the non-rigid registration technique is usedwhen the shapes of the first and second ear shells are not within thepredetermined threshold (e.g., having less than three anatomicallandmarks in common).

After step 220, the data associated with the loaded ear shells isregistered (steps 230-a,b). During either rigid registration (step230-a) or non-rigid registration (230-b) the parameterized set ofvertices or triangles (i.e., vertex/triangle) associated with the shellsis stored in the memory 120 and/or database 145. Rigid and/or non-rigidregistration enables the transformation matrix between two shells to bedetermined and thus, the corresponding vertex/triangle in one shell anda vertex/triangle in another shell can be located.

Once in the memory 120 or database 145, the data associated with thefeatures of the first and second ear shells is stored in correspondingregistration fields. For example, the data associated with the first earshell canal and concha and the data associated with the second ear shellcanal and concha are stored in first and second ear fields correspondingto canal and concha, respectively. It is to be understood that theregistration fields are also used to store data for general ear featuressuch as curvature, moments, principle vectors, etc. or specific earfeatures such as canal, canal tip, base, helix/anti-helix, concha,tragus/anti-tragus, etc. As further shown in FIG. 2, after the pluralityof ear shells have been registered they are synchronously processed(step 240).

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the synchronous processing of theplurality of ear shells in step 240 of FIG. 2. For ease of reference,FIG. 3 illustrates the synchronous processing of a first and second earshell, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of theinvention to only synchronously processing two ear shells.

As shown in FIG. 3, a detailing step is performed on the first ear shell(step 305). More specifically, a pre-tapering operation is performed inwhich an image plane is placed through a section of the first ear shellfor identifying an area above or below for tapering. The pre-taperingoperation is illustrated in the left image of a split-screen view 500 inFIG. 5. In accordance with the present invention, several screens and/orwindows can be viewed simultaneously on a display, and the operationstherein can be synchronized. In addition, a “synchronize enable” buttonor function may be provided on the display or input device 135 so thatan operator may synchronize and/or un-synchronize the operationsperformed in the windows being viewed on the display.

It is to be understood that any number of detailing and/or modelingsteps, and image manipulations may be performed in step 305 includingbut not limited to detailing steps such as line cut, tapering,extension, relaxing, offsetting, etc., modeling steps such as adjustingwall thickness, faceplate integration, vent channel and receiver holeformation, labeling, collision detection, etc., and image manipulationssuch as rotating, zooming, transforming, virtual casting, backgroundruler displaying, size measuring, and color changing. In addition, thedetailing and modeling steps, and image manipulations may be performedin any order and may be performed on a left or right ear shell orseveral left and/or right ear shells simultaneously. It is to be furtherunderstood, however, that the detailing steps are to be completed beforeexecuting the modeling steps, and that image manipulations can occurduring either of the detailing or modeling steps.

After the detailing step is performed its status and parameters (e.g.,the parameters associated with the location of the plane where the planeplacement took place) are recorded and stored in a memory such as theRAM 125 (step 310). Next, the data stored in step 310 is mapped to thesecond ear shell (step 315). This is accomplished by using the recordeddata from step 310 (e.g., the recorded operation name and parameters)and the registration data from either step 230-a or 230-a (e.g., thetransformation matrix) to determine the corresponding position on thesecond ear shell where the detailing operation will take place. Therecorded operation is then synchronously performed on the second earshell (step 320). In other words, the data associated with the planethat was placed through the first ear shell in step 305 is now appliedto the second ear shell so that the same plane placement takes place ina synchronized fashion on the second ear shell as shown in the rightimage of FIG. 5. As the process (steps 305-320) takes milliseconds orless to complete, the changes in the left and right images of FIG. 5occur synchronously and in real-time.

The operation in step 320 is accomplished by using the registration datathat accounted for the differences between the features and/orcharacteristics of the first and second ear shells and compensating forthose differences by applying a synchronized adjustment to the mappedsecond ear shell in the areas where differences exist. It is to beunderstood, however, that if the mapped second ear shell exceeds certainthresholds due to a non-paired case (e.g., when the first and second earshells have significant differences in their sizes and shapes) theprocess may be paused and an operator may manually adjust the planeplacement in an up and/or down position to compensate for an errorintroduced during the synchronized adjustment step 320. A toggle button,for example, may be provided on the input device 135 so that an operatorcan stop the system for synchronized processing and make manualadjustments where necessary.

After step 320, the flowchart of FIG. 3 proceeds to step 325. It shouldbe understood, however, that upon completion of step 320, anotherdetailing procedure could be performed, by repeating steps 305-320. Forexample, FIG. 6 illustrates the result of a tapering operation 600,which was performed using the pre-tapering data taken from the images ofFIG. 5, by repeating the steps 305-320 (with the tapering operation).

In step 325 an image manipulation is performed. More specifically, animage manipulation such as rotating is performed on the first ear shellin step 325. After the rotation takes place, the status and parametersof the rotation are stored (step 330), and then they are mapped to thesecond ear shell (step 335). Both of these steps are similar to or thesame as steps 310 and 315 but with different data being involved.Following the mapping step 335, the second ear shell is synchronouslyadjusted to reflect the process that was performed on the first earshell (step 340). The rotated shells are displayed in real-time to anoperator as shown, for example, in a split-screen view 700 of FIG. 7.

After step 340, the flowchart of FIG. 3 proceeds to step 345, or anotherimage manipulation could be performed, by repeating steps 325-340. Forexample, FIG. 8 illustrates a zoom operation 800, which illustrates aclose-up of the un-rotated images of FIG. 4, by repeating the steps325-340 with a zoom operation instead of the rotate operation.

As shown in FIG. 3, a modeling operation is performed (step 345). Inparticular, a modeling operation such as transducer exit hole drillingis performed on the first ear shell in step 345. After the transducerexit hole drilling takes place, its status and parameters are stored(step 350), and then they are mapped to the second ear shell (step 355).Following the mapping step 355, the second ear shell is synchronouslyadjusted to reflect the process that was performed on the first earshell (step 360). The modeled shells are displayed in real-time to theoperator as shown, for example, in a split-screen view 900 of FIG. 9.

It is to be understood that the present invention may be implemented invarious forms of hardware, software, firmware, special purposeprocessors, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the presentinvention may be implemented in software as an application programtangibly embodied on a program storage device. The application programmay be uploaded to, and executed by, a machine comprising any suitablearchitecture.

It is to be further understood that, because some of the constituentsystem components and method steps depicted in the accompanying figuresmay be implemented in software, the actual connections between thesystem components (or the process steps) may differ depending on themanner in which the present invention is programmed. Given the teachingsof the present invention provided herein, one of ordinary skill in theart will be able to contemplate these and similar implementations orconfigurations of the present invention.

It should also be understood that the above description is onlyrepresentative of illustrative embodiments. For the convenience of thereader, the above description has focused on a representative sample ofpossible embodiments, a sample that is illustrative of the principles ofthe invention. The description has not attempted to exhaustivelyenumerate all possible variations. That alternative embodiments may nothave been presented for a specific portion of the invention, or thatfurther undescribed alternatives may be available for a portion, is notto be considered a disclaimer of those alternate embodiments. Otherapplications and embodiments can be straightforwardly implementedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Itis therefore intended, that the invention not be limited to thespecifically described embodiments, because numerous permutations andcombinations of the above and implementations involving non-inventivesubstitutions for the above can be created, but the invention is to bedefined in accordance with the claims that follow. It can be appreciatedthat many of those undescribed embodiments are within the literal scopeof the following claims, and that others are equivalent.

1. A method for processing ear shells for hearing aids, comprising:loading data associated with a first and second ear shell; determiningwhether to perform a rigid or non-rigid registration of the dataassociated with the first and second ear shells; registering the dataassociated with the first and second ear shells; performing a firstprocessing operation on the first ear shell; performing the firstprocessing operation on the second ear shell, wherein the firstprocessing operation is performed on the second ear shell immediatelyafter the first processing operation is performed on the first earshell; and outputting images of the first and second ear shells to adisplay device when the first processing operations are performed. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the loading step comprises: obtainingthree-dimensional (3D) models of the first and second ear shells; andreconstructing the 3D models.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the 3Dmodels are obtained by scanning one of an auditory canal, concha, andmeatus of an ear.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the rigidregistration is performed when shapes of the first and second ear shellsare within a predetermined threshold.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe non-rigid registration is performed when shapes of the first andsecond ear shells are not within a predetermined threshold.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the registering step comprises: determiningsimilar features between the first and second ear shells; calculating atransformation matrix for the first and second ear shells; anddetermining differences between the first and second ear shells.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first processing operation is performedon the second ear shell by: mapping data associated with the firstprocessing operation performed on the first ear shell to the second earshell.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the mapping step comprises:receiving the data associated with the first ear shell; and applying atransformation matrix associated with the registered data of the firstand second ear shells.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstprocessing operation is one of a detailing, modeling, and imagemanipulation.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the detailing is one ofa line cut, tapering, extension, relaxing, band selection, offset, andipsilateral routing of signal (I-ROS) cutting.
 11. The method of claim9, wherein the modeling is one of a geometric adjustment, faceplateintegration, vent channel formation, receiver hole formation, labeling,and collision detection.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the imagemanipulation is one of a rotate, zoom, transformation, virtual cast,background ruler display, size measurement, and color change.
 13. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first and second ear shells are left andright ear shells.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first andsecond ear shells are one of a pair of left ear shells and a pair ofright ear shells.
 15. A system for processing ear shells for hearingaids, comprising: a memory device for storing a program; a processor incommunication with the memory device, the processor operative with theprogram to: load data associated with a first and second ear shell;determine whether to perform a rigid or non-rigid registration of thedata associated with the first and second ear shells; register the dataassociated with the first and second ear shells; perform a firstprocessing operation on the first ear shell; perform the firstprocessing operation on the second ear shell, wherein the firstprocessing operation is performed on the second ear shell immediatelyafter the first processing operation is performed on the first earshell; and display images of the first and second ear shells on adisplay device when the first processing operations are performed. 16.The system of claim 15, wherein the processor is further operative withthe program, when loading, to: obtain three-dimensional (3D) models ofthe first and second ear shells; and reconstruct the 3D models.
 17. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the 3D models are obtained by scanning oneof an auditory canal, concha, and meatus of an ear.
 18. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the rigid registration is performed when shapes of thefirst and second ear shells are within a predetermined threshold. 19.The system of claim 15, wherein the non-rigid registration is performedwhen shapes of the first and second ear shells are not within apredetermined threshold.
 20. The system of claim 15, wherein theprocessor is further operative with the program, when registering, to:determine similar features between the first and second ear shells;calculate a transformation matrix for the first and second ear shells;and determine differences between the first and second ear shells. 21.The system of claim 15, wherein the processor is further operative withthe program, when performing the first processing operation on thesecond ear shell, to: map data associated with the first processingoperation performed on the first ear shell to the second ear shell. 22.The system of claim 21, wherein the processor is further operative withthe program, when mapping, to: receive the data associated with thefirst ear shell; and apply a transformation matrix associated with theregistered data of the first and second ear shells.
 23. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the first processing operation is one of a detailing,modeling, and image manipulation.
 24. The system of claim 23, whereinthe detailing is one of a line cut, tapering, extension, relaxing, bandselection, offset, and ipsilateral routing of signal (I-ROS) cutting.25. The system of claim 23, wherein the modeling is one of a geometricadjustment, faceplate integration, vent channel formation, receiver holeformation, labeling, and collision detection.
 26. The system of claim23, wherein the image manipulation is one of a rotate, zoom,transformation, virtual cast, background ruler display, sizemeasurement, and color change.
 27. The system of claim 15, wherein thefirst and second ear shells are left and right ear shells.
 28. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the first and second ear shells are one of apair of left ear shells and a pair of right ear shells.
 29. The systemof claim 15, wherein the processor is further operative with the programto: store data associated with the loading of the first and second earshells, registering of the first and second ear shells, and firstprocessing operations performed on the first and second ear shells. 30.The method of claim 29, wherein the data associated with the loading ofthe first and second ear shells, registering of the first and second earshells, and first processing operations performed on the first andsecond ear shells is stored in one of a database, and memory.
 31. Acomputer program product comprising a computer useable medium havingcomputer program logic recorded thereon for processing ear shells forhearing aids, the computer program logic comprising: program code forloading data associated with a first and second ear shell; program codefor determining whether to perform a rigid or non-rigid registration ofthe data associated with the first and second ear shells; program codefor registering the data associated with the first and second earshells; program code for performing a first processing operation on thefirst ear shell; program code for performing the first processingoperation on the second ear shell, wherein the first processingoperation is performed on the second ear shell immediately after thefirst processing operation is performed on the first ear shell; andprogram code for outputting images of the first and second ear shells toa display device when the first processing operations are performed. 32.A system for processing ear shells for hearing aids, comprising: meansfor loading data associated with a first and second ear shell; means fordetermining whether to perform a rigid or non-rigid registration of thedata associated with the first and second ear shells; means forregistering the data associated with the first and second ear shells;means for performing a first processing operation on the first earshell; means for performing the first processing operation on the secondear shell, wherein the first processing operation is performed on thesecond ear shell immediately after the first processing operation isperformed on the first ear shell; and means for displaying images of thefirst and second ear shells when the first processing operations areperformed.
 33. A method for processing ear shells for hearing aids,comprising: loading data associated with a first and second ear shell,wherein the data associated with the first and second ear shells isobtained by scanning an impression of the first and second ear shells:determining whether to perform a rigid or non-rigid registration of thedata associated with the first and second ear shells, wherein the rigidregistration is performed when shapes of the first and second ear shellsare within a predetermined threshold, and the non-rigid registration isperformed when the shapes of the first and second ear shells are notwithin the predetermined threshold; registering the data associated withthe first and second ear shells so that a relative position andorientation of the first shell with respect to the second shell can bedetermined; performing a processing operation on each of the first andsecond ear shells, wherein the processing operation performed on thefirst ear shell is performed on the second ear shell immediately afterthe processing operation is performed on the first car shell by usingdata from the registration of the first and second ear shells; anddisplaying images of the first and second ear shells on a display devicewhen the processing operations are performed.
 34. A method forprocessing ear shells for hearing aids, comprising: loading dataassociated with a first and a second ear shell; determining whether toperform a rigid or non-rigid registration of the data associated withthe first and second ear shells, wherein the rigid registration isperformed when shapes of the first and second ear shells are within apredetermined threshold, and the non-rigid registration is performedwhen the shapes of the first and second ear shells are not within thepredetermined threshold; registering the data associated with the firstand second ear shells by: determining similar features between the firstand second ear shells; calculating a transformation matrix for the firstand second ear shells; and determining a difference between the firstand second ear shells; performing an operation on the first ear shell,wherein the operation is one of a detailing, modeling, and imagemanipulation; storing data associated with the operation performed onthe first ear shell; mapping the data associated with the operationperformed on the first ear shell to the second ear shell, wherein thedata is mapped by using the transformation matrix of the first andsecond ear shells; performing the operation performed on the first earshell on the second ear shell, wherein the operation is performed on thesecond ear shell immediately after the operation is performed on thefirst ear shell; and displaying images of the first and second earshells on a display device in a spilt-screen format when the operationsare performed.